Ethical hacking set for MP debate

Should UK citizens ever have the right to launch a hack attack against a computer or a network? That is the question up for debate by a group of tech-savvy MPs, as the All-Party Internet Group (APIG) launches an investigation into Britain's cybercrime laws. APIG has recognised that the Computer Misuse Act (CMA), which came into law in 1990, needs to be updated to cover attacks upon the internet and on other computer networks. Like many experts, the group is concerned that the existing legislation may not apply to denial-of-service attacks - where a network is driven offline by a flood of web traffic.

Richard Allan MP, joint vice-chairman of APIG, said: "As it stands, the Computer Misuse Act suffers from a lack of a network focus. Today, the primary threat from hackers is to the network, rather than to individual computers, and if the network goes down we've got problems."

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